Harry Potter and the Little Dragon
by Mithril Maiden
Summary: What if things had gone differently? What if James had survived and someone else had died instead? What if the author can't write summaries, disclaimers or stories? Well, find out...


This is the part where I have to come up with a disclaimer, isn't it. Bummer. Ok, at first I thought I'd go with this:

I don't own this. I don't own that. I don own them. I don't even own the computer I'm typing on because my own keeps crashing while I write. #weeps#

But that one got old and I got a new computer. So instead I'm going with this:

Me: I don't own Jack sh#t. Perhaps most of the plot twists but not the main line of the story, and maybe even some characters as we move on but that's nothing compared to J.K Rowling's pwnage on this story.  
#Turns around and hisses to the men in the background# All right, I've done my part now will you do yours and leave!  
MIB: Till next time #leave#  
#An indecent gesture in the general direction of the men that left#

Now that we've gotten that out of the way I must thank some people... thank you Eru, thank you Devy Black(an author), thank you Lumos, thank you Harshipper (an author)

To the story!

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James Potter waited at the meeting spot. He wasn't sure why exactly he had come. After all that had happened he should avoid meeting anyone alone - especially him. James didn't know if he could trust him. There were rumors circulating about him being with the enemy. Yet he had come for the sake of their old friendship; in hopes of picking up the pieces and starting anew. He knew that the chances of that happening were slim. To be honest the chances to get 10 hippogriffs to perform the wedding march in acapella after you've called them winged donkey droppings were greater. 

It was unusually cold for Halloween. If Lucius hadn't owled him to come he would have still been home with Lilly and his little son. He sighed and leaned on the building behind him. He had left the safety of the house to undo the damage he had afflicted on their friendship. Lucius had had every right to tell him off. The blonde was fiercely protective of his friends and couldn't tolerate the way he had treated Severus. Now that he had finally grown up he didn't hold any grudges but was sure that Snape didn't feel the same. But at the same time Snape had more right to do so too.

James had started pacing back and forth on the street corner trying to keep warm. The chill was slowly creeping trough his bones, but he couldn't risk using the heating charm. His magical signature might give him away and this happened to be a muggle district so he would not have been a hard man to find. He had been pacing for some time when he finally heard footsteps from the distance. He grew tense and dove a hand for his wand in the robes inner pocket. You could never be too sure on these dark times. Especially if you're supposed to be deep in hiding.

A cloaked figure walked into the narrow light cast by the streetlamp and James recognized him as Lucius. The figure was holding something in his arms under the heavy cloak and James tensed involuntarily. No matter how he wanted to trust him, the past had done its damage. The trust between them had long since faded and auror instincts were kicking in. After some time and with some effort he managed to convince himself to put the wand away.

Once Lucius came closer James saw that the other man looked tired and paler than usual. In fact the other man seemed very unmalfoyish. Lucius looked worn and like he could use a shot of firewhiskey. The blonde man came closer and James gave him a welcoming smile in greeting.

"You sure do pick great meeting spots" James's words were sarcastic but a smile showed that he meant no harm byit. "I feel like I've stepped out of a bad criminal novel". He could almost see the tension that hung in the air. It had been a long time since they had traded kind words. They were black and white, light and dark. They evened each other out, but you could never be too sure which was which cause the roles kept changing and the line was so blurred that no one could tell.

"Greetings James. Well met." Lucius shifted the object he was holding under his cloak on to his left arm and offered his right in greeting. James could have sworn that the object moved a little in the process but quickly explained that with his edgy imagination. After a short hesitation James grasped the offered hand and proceeded to shake it warmly. Lucius rised an eyebrow and said

"No one would think of looking for us here and in the current situation it can only be good, can it not?"

James shrugged and leaned against the wall and jokingly replied. "Alright, alright. I'm not one to complain about safety." After a pause with a more serious tone he asked: "Why did you call me here, Lucius?" Lucius sighed and took out a small bundle he had been holding under the cloak. James took a closer look and turned his gaze up from the bundle to Lucius with a startled expression. The silence was intense and demanded an answer.

Lucius sighed and cradled the baby closer to his chest and looked down at him fondly. The infant snuggled in the blankets and grabbed a lock of the silver blond hair in its tiny hand. „Very well, as you and everyone else know I have a son named Draco. What you don't know is that I happen to be a seer, and foresaw the future of our children. The future that was shown to me showed that their lives are wound together and are far fetched from happy. By arranging this meeting I have altered it. In what way and how, you will probably never know. This is the best way to make their future better. I'm going to die today". James looked shocked and was about to protest but Lucius interrupted him and went on.

"I'm not going to tell you when and how it will happen, but you should know that it is inevitable and necessary. I'm bound to the service of the Dark Lord. In my youth I was naïve and thought he was the right path to choose." He glanced down on his son who was drooling in his sleep but did not stop speaking. "I bound myself to him and in exchange for that I gave him my love for my son and that of my wife, in other words he holds my soul. I became an echo of what I once was an emotionless cruel shell of a human being. Only tonight I can roam out of the bonds that attach me to him. Tonight is the only night of the year that I can really control my actions. Because of Samhain the bond is broken for a few hours. The bond can't hold, for the ancient nights magic frees all souls from whatever bonds for just one night. "

James finally came out of the trance he had fallen into while listening and asked sorrowfully „ But how will this meeting change the future?" Lucius looked away from James and turned his attention once more to Draco, who was yawning in his sleep. "I'm asking you to take Draco as your second son". James was shocked. He had expected just about anything but this came as a total surprise. He couldn't believe his ears. "But Lucius, why me?". He didn't know how to react.

Lucius looked at James again and said: "Narcissa is going to die too. It is my fault." His expression was full of regret and sorrow. "I got her dragged into this mess." He cradled the child against him with both hands and looked down into the sleeping face. "Please tell me you'll take him. You're my only option." Desperation shone on his face as he spoke. He looked at his son resting in his arms and his eyes shimmered with unshed tears. It was obvious he loved his son. The way he held him and looked at him made it look as if Draco was his last lifeline. And who knew, maybe he was his last shred of humanity and love that was left untarnished.

Lucius looked into the compassionate observing eyes and went on. "You have got the right experience and I'm sure that you can save him from the Malfoy curse. I don't want him to grow up as coldhearted and cruel. I don't want him to have the Malfoy childhood, rules replacing the games. Please James"

James sighed rubbed his eyes while nodding warily." I'll take him. I'd feel forever guilty if I didn't." he looked Lucius straight in the eye and said "Ill do my best trying to give him a good home. I just hope Lily can accept it. She probably will." He combed his hand trough his hair in a tired manner. After a short pause he went on with a sad smile. "She never can turn anyone away"

Lucius took another look into his sons face and then kissed the pale baby on the forehead.

He hugged his son close one last time and whispered with a broken voice "Be well my little dragon." His heart broke as he handed Draco over. With a lump in his throat he retreated and handed a letter to James who felt for the other man.

"Don't tell him about me. When he goes into Hogwarts please give this to him. It explains everything. My will is in there too as are guardianship papers. I trust you to take good care of him." He started walking away, with every step tearing at his heart, stopped once more and turned around with a melancholic smile.

„Don't spoil him rotten" he turned to walk on but stopped once more and considered something. Reaching to a conclusion he turned once more. "Give Severus a chance. It wasn't his choice and don't hate me forever." At James's confused look he said "You'll know soon". He turned on the heel and left with a hurrying stride soon disappearing into the darkness the sound of his footsteps fading away.

When the last of Lucius had disappeared James looked at Draco, shook his head and started heading home with the thought that this was probably the last time he ever saw Lucius again. He held the baby under his robes so the infant wouldn't freeze and started heading home. How was he going to explain this to Lily?

-0000-

He ran the last two streets. The bad feeling he had about it wasn't going to go away. It was just like he was missing something very important. He heard Lily's screams from a street away from their house and his run turned into a fanatic dash. Just a he was just three buildings away from his home he heard his wife calling: "Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

His heart ran cold and he tried to add to the pace, but the baby he was holding in his robes slowed him down. Then he heard Voldemort's chilling voice and his eyes grew wide. "Stand aside, you silly girl. Stand aside now." Deep down inside he knew he wouldn't make it, but hope always dies last. The last thing he heard from Lily before the all consuming numbness took over was her frantic shout: "Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead!" When he heard the next words leaving Voldemort's mouth he lost it completely.„AVADA KEDAVRA!" He shattered inside but he didn't let his brain to actually get the full blow of the message. There was still hope!

Just as James was few seconds away from grabbing the door handle and running upstairs he heard what he had dreaded the most. „AVADA KEDAVRA!" James saw it happening in just a split second. The green light shone trough his house and blew the windows and doors from its frames shaking the foundation to the ground. The roof caved in and James crouched on sheer instinct to shield the baby in his robes.

He got up slowly and his pained muscles ached from the movement. A shard of glass had flown past him and left a bleeding wound on his left check. The blood trickled from the wound down his neck and stained his robe front which was covered with dust. Draco had finally woken and started crying. James who had just stood up fell to his knees clutching the wailing bundle, unable to cry. It took him some time to notice that Draco wasn't the only one wailing. Inside the wreckage of his beloved home he heard another voice.

He quickly stood up and ran to the stairs. He couldn't run up, because it looked very fragile and leaving Draco here was not an option either. He carefully made his way up as much speed as it was possible. When he reached the bedroom he stood still for some time and gathered himself for the worst. He was expecting to fight Voldemort so he hid Draco and placed a silencing charm around him. He pulled out his wand and with one swift movement stepped around the corner with the curse on the tip of his tongue. He stopped suddenly and his heart broke a little more.

On the floor lay the body of his beautiful wife and between her arms was his crying son. He had no space of mind to think why Vlodemort wasn't there and so he didn't notice the remains of the other wizard's robes on the floor. He kneeled before the lifeless body of his wife and wept. Wept for so long he didn't even know when he had taken it to their ruined bed and covered it with one of his cloaks that he had pulled out from the remains of their closet. He kneeled before the bed with now both babies in his arms and cried his heart out. The infants had gone quiet but were holding on to his robes with their tiny little hands and looking at him intently. It seemed they understood even tough that was impossible.

When Hagrid came he found them like this. He cried at the sight of Lily's body but soon understood he had to be the strong one here and guided the remains of the broken family outside. He had expected to see them all dead and although sad over losing Lily, he was immensely grateful for seeing James and Harry alive. There was a huge fresh wound on Harry's forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. The wound was gaping open but no blood flowed out of it. He was wondering about the other child aswell but now was not the time to ask.

When they reached outside James handed the children to Hagrid who saw him collapse with grief and emotional exhaustion. He lost consciousness and Hagrid looked at him sadly.

This was the scene that greeted Sirius when he arrived to Godric's Hollow. He noticed James lying there and for a moment something shattered in his eyes. They shone with guilt, after awhile they started to burn with indescribable hatred. He jumped on his bike and took off on top speed.

Hagrid had wanted to tell him that James was alive but the shock of his arrival had not worn off in time. Hagrid just stood there with an armful of children. He shook his head and murmured "This day couldn't get any more confusing" but Hagrid hadn't considered that there were still few hours of it left and in such a long time lot of things could happen. He made himself push the grief back for awhile and assigned himself on rousing James. The muggle law defense was going to be here soon. It was best to get as far away as they could. To somewhere safe… to Dumbledore.

TBC... maybe...if you review...

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A/N: Now comes the part where I complain about the lack of my writing skills and about this being my first real story. So bear with me. This also happens to be the part where I cadge for reviews, constructive criticism and maybe even some fresh new ideas. Oh yeah and this is also the part where I bring out the apology for typos and stuff: I'm not of English based origin. Haah! So not my fault... maybe it is but it's still good to at least seem to get off the hook. 


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